Flat knitting machine



March 1943- s. w. L!PP|TT FLAT KNITTING MACHINE 5 Sheds-Sheet 1 770 ENEYS INVENTOR- STEPHEN VV- Z/FP/TT Filed Nov. 21, 1941 ENE S. W. LIPPITT FLAT KNITTING MACHINE March 2, 1943.

, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21

BY WT A rroze/vzys Jl l l I I I l I l (I March 2, 1943. s w L|PP|TT 2,312,565

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 m: E 7 87 Mum 63 i i gag 1 I l a I i 4 M mi? I -15 {1 I, v X \\l I II 1* *W I|||| O Q l @4 5752 1 15 m g gi rr BY 12% March 2, 1943. s. w. LlPPlTT FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov, 21, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOK M/p A TTOIPA/EYS.

TEPHF/V N ZIP/777 as 5 J BY 5 March 2, 1943. s w |PP|TT 2,312,565

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 STEP/15m w z/PP/Tr- BY f/ 77%;

Y ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 2, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE} FLAT KNITTING MACHINE I Stephen W. Lippitt, Cleveland, Ohio Application November 21, 1941, Serial No. 419,885

13 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to flat bed knitting machines and more specifically to mechanism for reciprocating the cam carriage therein.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a driving unit which is adapted to reciprocate the cam carriage throughout the length of the needle bed, or any predetermined portion thereof, and at any rate of speed.

To this end the invention contemplates a fluid operated motor, a valve for the control thereof and a pattern record for the control of the valve. The pattern record is constructed to regulate the width of the fabric and effectuate variations in the configuration of the lineal edges thereof.

In detail, the motor preferably embodies a cylinder having a piston therein and a valve to effect the reciprocation thereof. The length of stroke and restricted paths of reciprocative movement of the piston are regulated by a trip which is governed by an electrical actuating mechanism coupled with the pattern record. The operative speed of the motor is likewise governed by an electrical actuating mechanism coupled with the pattern record and with a secondary valve within the fluid circulatory system.

Another object of the invention is to provide a driving connection between the cam carriage and motor which is .designed to effect the translation of the carriage through a path of greater magnitude than that initiated by the piston.

Briefly, the driving connection comprises a lazy tongs structure operatively connected with the piston through a toggle mounted on the bed of I the machine. With such linkage the increased movement of the cam carriage resulting from the distention of the lazy tongs will accommodate the use of a shorter cylinder and machine bed than feasible with a hydraulic drive of the type in which the carriage is directly coupled with the piston.

Another object of the invention is to provide mechanism for operating the cam carriages, in double needle bed machines, from a single hydraulic unit so that the reciprocative movement, transverse alignment and speed of the two cam carriages may be maintained in constant relation with each other throughout the operative cycle of the machine.

Other objects and advantages more or less ancillary to the foregoing and the manner in which all the various objects are realized will appear in the following description, which considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, sets forth the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of the improved knitting machine, the housing therefor being broken away to facilitate the illustration of the cam carriage linkage and driving mechanism therefor;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary portion of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1, the cam carriage driving linkage being shown in its distended position;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of an end portion of the machine, certain of the cover plates being removed in the interest of clarity;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the machine, the section being taken on a plane indicated by the line 4-4 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view shown upon an enlarged scale of a portion of the linkage for actuating the cam carriage;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the linkage shown in Fig. 5 and a fragmentary portion of the machine bed, the linkage being illustrated in its distended position;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the linkage shown in Fig. 6, the section being taken on a plane indicated by the line 1-1 therein;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through a fragmentary portion of the lazy tongs cover plate and through one of the central pivotal connections in the lazy tongs, the section being indicated by the line 88 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of one end of the machine illustrating somewhat diagrammatically the pattern record and actuating mechanism therefor; and

Fig. 10 is a front elevational view of a fragmentary portion of the pattern record illustrated in Fi 9.

Referring to Fig. 1, the knitting machine embodies a pair of base members In and II, a bed I2 mounted thereon and a pair of needle plates.

l3 supported by said bed. Within the base member l I there is a tank or reservoir l4 (Fig. 3) having an electric motor I5 mounted on the top thereof. The armature shaft of the motor is coupled with a, pump l6 which is provided with an intake pipe I! thereon, communicating with the reservoir l4, and a discharge pipe 18 connected with a pressure valve [9. The housing for the pressure valve is ported to receive a pair of conduits 20 and 2| connected respectively with the opposed ends of a cylinder 22 mounted on the bed of the machine. The valve I9 is controlled by a pilot valve 23 comprising, generally, a rotatable core having channels therein arranged, upon oscillation of the core, to effect successive interoommunication between a fluid pressure line 24 connected with the pump l6 and a pair of conduits 25 and 26 leading to the valve IS. The valve 23 is oscillated within its housing by a lever 21 formed with a pair of divergent arms 28 which are successively engaged by a finger 29 mounted superjacent the arms 28 upon a reciprocable rod 30. The rod or shifter bar 30 is provided with adjustable collars 3la and Nb, which are engaged by an arm 32 depending from a cross head 33 mounted for reciprocative movement in a guideway formed in the bed of the machine. The

valve l9 and thence alternately through the con- 1 duits 20 and 2| to the opposed ends of the cylinder 22. As the fluid flows through the conduit 20 it will force the piston 35 to the opposite end of the cylinder, thus eflecting the translation of the cross head and arm 32 carried thereby. During such movement the arm 32 will be brought into abutting engagement with the collar 3m on the rod 30, thus causing the finger 29 mounted thereon to engage and override the outer arm 23 of the lever 21. With the lever 21 thus adjusted fluid under pressure from the line 24 will be diverted from the conduit 25 to the conduit 25,

vwhich communicates with a shuttle valve, not

shown, embodied in and forming a part of the valve i9. As the fluid from the conduit 26 enters the shuttle valve the plunger therein will be shifted to cover the port for the conduit 20 and open the port to the conduit 2|, thus causing a reversal of movement 01' the piston 35. Continued movement of the piston will cause engagement of the arm 32 with the collar 3|b and thus eifect the counter operation or the mechanismas described above.

A return line 35, communicating with the reservoir I4 is provided in the pilotvalve 23 to relieve the pressure line. The fluid discharged from the cylinder 22 is returned to the valve l9 from whence it is discharged into the rservoir through a pipe 31.

The length of the piston strokeand/or the zone of reciprocative movement of the piston within its cylinder may be altered by adjustment of the collars 3| or by adjustment of one or more levers 39 pivotally mounted upon the rod 30 or by adjustment of both the levers and collars. The levers 39 are supported by stops 40 clamped upon the rod adjacent the ends of the hubs of the levers 39. The depending portions 4| of the levers 39 are interlinked with rocker arms 42 (Fig. 9) mounted in brackets 43 adjustably secured upon a hanger 44 which is mounted for longitudinal adjustment upon the rod 30. The rocker arms 42 are actuated by solenoids 45 which are supported upon the hanger 44. The solenoids are energized through electric switches embodying a pivotally supported contact arm 46 formed with a curved finger 41 in the free end thereof which is urged under the eflort of a spring into engagement with a cylinder 48. The cylinder is provided with a metallic facing having a contact thereon which is coupled in the electric circuit common to the solenoids 45.

The pattern record 49 comprises a tube or cylindrical band of insulating material formed for telescopic engagement with the metallic face of the cylinder 48 and adapted for ready assembly or removal thereon. The record is constructed with perforations 50 arranged in aligned relation with the finger 41 and disposed circumferentially in such positions as are requisite to the operation of the stop levers 39 in fashioning the fabric to a predetermined design. The cylinder is rotated by an arm 5| fulcrumed for oscillatory movement upon a shaft 52 upon which the cylinder 48 is rotated. The arm 5| is connected with a solenoid 52 energized through a wire 53 couwith the arm 32.

pled with a switch 54 (Fig. 3) embodying a pair of spaced contacts 55 which are engaged during each reciprocative stroke of the piston, by a finger 55 on the rod 30. The arm 5| is provided with a pawl 58 engageable ,witha ratchet wheel 59 mounted upon and rotatable with the cylinder 43. As the solenoid 52 is energized the-arm II will be depressed to a position where the pawl." will move a single tooth of the ratchet. When the circuit to the solenoid is broken the arm 5| will be elevated to a position where the pawl 53 will engage the next tooth of the ratchet wheel.

A second pawl 60 supported in a bracket 6|, secured to the bed of the machine, is provided to restrain counter rotative movement of the cylinder.

As the machine is, operated the finger 41 will ride upon the insulating material of the record 49 until the cylinder is indexed to a position where the finger will drop into one of the perforations 50. Engagement of the finger with the metallic facing of the cylinder will close the circuit to the solenoid 45, effectuating the actuation of the lever 42 and the consequent'pivotal adjustment of the lever 39 for abutting engagement The perforations 50 may be arranged to efifect the reciprocation of the arm 32 between either of the levers and collars 3| or merely between the levers 39. It will be recognized that. the record 49 may be fabricated with the apertures so arranged as to effect a ;redetermined order of operation of the cam carriage wherein the path traced by the points of reversal of the carriage define the pattern of the edges of the fabric being formed.

The operative speed of the machine may be varied to compensate for lineal reciprocative changes of the piston by the provision of a magnetic by-pass valve 62 which, as illustrated in Fig. 3, is coordinated with the pressure valve l9.

The magnetic valve 62 is actuated through an electric wire 54 connected in a circuit leading to a finger 65 (Fig. 10) similar in structure to the finger 41. The pattern record is provided with a second series of apertures 53 arranged in aligned relation with the fingers 55 and circumferentially formed to eflect the required dwell when the finger drops therein and closes the circuit to the magnetic valve.

As is customary in machines of this character the cam carriage 10 (Fig. 1) is mounted for reciprocative movement in guideways formed in the bed of the machine adjacent the needle plate I2. The guideways are formed for the reception of tapered gibs 13 having the customary draw bolts thereon to facilitate adjustments compensative of wear. The front and rearward face of the bed of the machine is formed with a second pair oi guideways I4 (Fig. 4) having slides 15 mounted therein which are interlinkedwith the cam carriages 10 through arms 15 and TI. slides 15 are coupled with the center pivotal connection in the end links of a lazy tongs structure 18. The links, as will be seen in Fig. 8, are counter bored for the reception of anti-friction bearings 19 having the cross link bearing pins 39 supported in the inner races thereof. Certain of the pins are extended beyond the face of the outer link of the lazy tongs to provide a support for anti-friction bearings 8| arranged to track in longitudinal grooves 82 machined in the inner faces of the cover plates 93.

As illustrated in Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 7, the center The chine l2, the ends of the links 85 and 86 being pivotally connected to a toggle 81 mounted on the arms 88 of the cross head 33. The'side walls of the bed l2 adjacent the anchor pin 84 are formed with openings 89 provided to facilitate the reciprocative movement of the cross head arms 88.

As the piston is reciprocated within its cylinder the cross head arms will effectuate the alternate separation and retraction of the toggle arms 81 which in turn will draw the links 85 and 86 towards and away from each other, causing the I alternate distention and retraction of the lazy tongs I8 and the consequent reciprocation of the cam carriage 10.

It will be recognized that reciprocative movements of the piston and the zone of reciprocative movement of the piston within its cylinder will effect like reciprocative movements of the cam carriage Hi though multiplied in the order of the ratio of the linkage. It will also be recognized that linkage of this character may be designed to effect the translation of the cam carriage through a relatively long path of travel with a minimum stroke of the piston, the arms of the links illustrated herein, for example, being designed to produce substantially a fourteen to one ratio between the carriage and piston.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order'that the invention may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

I claim:

1. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a cylinder, a fluid operated piston therein, linkage intermediate said piston and said carriage for multiplying the travel of the carriage in relation to the travel of the piston and means for altering the travel of said piston.

2. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a cylinder, a fluid Operated piston therein and a lazy tongs coupling intermediate said piston and said carriage.

3. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a cylinder, a fluid operated piston therein, a lazy tongs coupling intermediate said piston and said carriage, a valve for controlling the passage of fluid into said cylinder, a slide operatively controlled by said piston, .an arm on said slide for actuating said valve and means to limit the movement of said slide.

4. In a flat bed knitting machine'embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a cylinder, a fluid operated piston therein, lazy tongs intermediate said piston and said carriage, a valve for controlling the passage of fluid into said cylinder,-and a solenoid for controlling the actuation of said valve.

5. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a cylinder, a fluid operated piston therein, linkage intermediate said piston and carriage adapted to multiply the translation thereof and mechanism for controlling the zone of the reciprocative movement of the carriage along the bed of the machine.

6,- In a'knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for the reciprocation thereof comprising a fluid motor and an extensible linkage mechanism coupled with said motor and said carriage.

'7. In a knittingmachine embodying a bed, a carriage thereon, a fluid operated piston for reciprocating said carriage,'lazy tongs connecting said piston with said carriage, a frame on said bed having a guideway therein, and trunnions on said lazy tongs disposed within said guideway to support the lazy tongs during the actuation thereof.

8. In a knitting machine embodying a bed having a pair of longitudinal guideways, a cylinder mounted on said bed intermediate said guideways, a fluid operated piston in said cylinder, a cross head mounted on said piston, a cam carriage mounted in each of said guideways, linkage connecting said cross head with the respective carriages, said linkage being organized to multiply the reciprocative movement of said piston.

9. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a motor, lazy tongs connected to said carriage and motor, means between said motor and said lazy tongs to effect the actuation thereof during the operation of the motor.

10. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a motor, a distensible member connected to'said carriage and means between said motor and said distensible member to effect the actuation thereof.

11. In a flat knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a driving element, a distensible and retractable coupling member connected to said cam carriage, means associated with said driving element for distending and retracting said coupling and means associated with said driving element for controlling the movement of said carriage. I l.

12. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a fluid operated piston, a

toggle joint thereon, lazy tongs connected thereto and with said carriage, a valve, a trip'associated therewith for regulating the translation of said piston and a pattern record for regulating the actuation, of said trip.

13. In a flat bed knitting machine embodying a. cam carriage, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage comprising a cylinder, a pistontherein, a member intermediate said carriage and piston for actuating the carriage, a reciprocable.

rod on said machine, a valvular mechanism connected with said cylinder, a trip on said rod engageable with said valvular mechanism for controlling the movement of said piston, adjustable stops on said rod, an arm on said piston abutting said'stops to efiect the reciprocation of said rod and the consequent movement of said carriage through a.,predetermined portion of the bed oi the machine.

STEPHEN W, LIPPI'I'I. 

